Tagged: garrett atkins

Spring training games have already started which means Opening Day is close. Another season that is currently getting under-way is Fantasy Baseball. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll write up my position-by-position preview to help prepare you for the pursuit of the ever important bragging rights. First on the list are the first basemen, led by superstar Albert Pujols.

The Elite:

Albert Pujols STL- He continues to build on an already legendary career as his HR, RBIs, and SLG have all increased each of the past three years.

Mark Teixeira NYY- Teixeira impressed in his first year with the Yanks. 100-plus runs and 100-plus RBIs are a near lock with his career .923 OPS.

Miguel Cabrera DET- The Johnny Damon acquisition should only give Cabrera more chances to drive in runs.

James Loney LAD- He is often forgot about due to low HR totals, but in his 4 year career Loney has a .295 AVG and two 90 RBI seasons. If his power comes through, Loney will becom a very valuable player.

Billy Butler KC- Playing in the spacious Kauffman Stadium doesn’t help his power production, but KC’s lineup is improved and he showed progress last year.

Adam LaRoche ARI- LaRoche will be available late in the draft and is someone you shouldn’t forget about. He’ll put up his usual 35 doubles, 25 HR, and 85 RBIs.

Caution:

Garrett Atkins BAL- Atkins will play first base in Baltimore but has been in a steady decline for three years. He bottomed out in ’09 with 9 HR and a .226 AVG.

Garrett Jones PIT- Jones came on strong as a rookie and even had some ROY consideration. I expect him to come back down to earth after his stunning .938 OPS in ’09. Jones’ strikeout rate is also unfavorable.

Lance Berkman HOU- Something must be in the water in Houston as Berkman and Roy Oswalt are already talking retirement. Berkman’s 2009 was below expectations and he seems to have lost his edge at the plate. He won’t be horrible but he is no longer a first tier first baseman.

The deadline for teams to non-tender players whom they were not keen on giving a raise to has come and gone. With the weak economy, payrolls of all sizes are looking to cut costs where possible and it showed during the non-tendering period. Let’s take a look at which players are now available on the free agent market with an “All Non-Tender Roster.”

Alfredo Amezaga ss (Can play short, second, third, and center.)

Kelly Johnson 2b (Lost the second base job to start the year but is only 28)

Garrett Atkins 3b (Has tons of power and was great for two years)

Jack Cust lf (25 home runs three years in a row, strike out rates are too high)

Jonny Gomes rf (Great pickup for the Reds last year, good platoon option)

Mike Jacobs dh (Horrible defense but is strong, was a force a couple years ago)

Ryan Garko 1b (Another platoon candidate, possibly with Jacobs?)

Jeremy Reed cf (Good outfielder but has developed holes in his swing)

John Buck c (Younger than most of the catching options on the market)

These players are all younger options and most have some pop in their bat or at least a history of it. The non-tendered group of pitchers includes Scott Olsen, Chien-Ming Wang, Clay Condrey, Matt Capps, and D.J. Carrasco to name a few hurlers with recently prominent roles.

So the question is: Which of these players would you buy or sell for your team this off-season?

A recent post on mlbtraderumors.com by Tim Dierkes posed a challenge to the readers: Create the best possible lineup, rotation, and bullpen of this off-season’s trade candidates. So this evening I’ll take my crack at it, again only using players who have a good chance of getting traded this winter.

Lineup:

1. Granderson cf– Detroit seems to be cost cutting, could bring in a haul.

2. Pierre lf– Dodger’s OF is full and getting expensive through arbitration.

3. Bradley rf– You know the story. Will he rebound after another ‘fresh start?’

As you can see, I don’t think some of the more intriguing picks (Adrian Gonzalez, Felix Hernandez, Carl Crawford, etc.) will get traded this off-season. These types of players are both integral to their team’s success and are rather affordable, not to mention how close each of those teams are to contending in their division. I expect this off-season’s trade market to consist of more cost-adjusting moves and less blockbusters than the headlines would like to suggest.

But they don’t call it the Hot Stove League for nothing as I’m sure there will be some surprising and exciting deals pulled off as the owners’ holiday wishlists grow larger.